The rise of 'Minecraft'

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As we head into a new year, one of the biggest games out there remains the independent blockbuster "Minecraft." Released back in November 2011 on the PC, the sandbox game from Swedish programmer Markus "Notch" Persson sold more than 453,000 copies on Christmas Eve on PC alone. The franchise has sold over 18 million copies across Xbox Live Arcade (over 4 million downloads), PC (over 8.7 million copies) and mobile (over 5 million downloads on Apple iOS and Google Android devices).

The man who works directly with this huge community of gamers at Curse, which runs the official Minecraft Forums, is Tommy Carpenter. He talks about the diverse range of gamers who explore this open world and build new virtual experiences, block by block.

How did you get involved with Minecraft?

I started in November 2010. About three or four months into it, I became a moderater on the site. I ended up working harder than other people and did 75 percent of moderation for the site. Curse had me start writing articles for the site and things just grew from there.

How big an audience do you cater to on the official forums?

We have over 2 million registered users -- a lot of that comes from the mining end of it. As far as overall traffic, we have no fewer than 200 people on the front page at any time. We get over 7 million (7,201,000) unique monthly viewers on the forums.

What's the audience like that "Minecraft" is attracting?

The median age on the forums is 14. It's a wide spectrum that runs from single-digit kids to people in their 70s. The game has such a broad appeal it taps into everyone's like of creating something and seeing their work turn into something neat. It's attracting hardcore gamers through its elaborate PVP (player vs. player) and challenge maps and game modes they developed on their own. Casual gamers like doing sprite art or building homes or towns or working on more casual projects.

How have you seen "Minecraft" fare across different platforms?

There are over 8 million PC players and over 2 million mobile gamers. The remainder play on Xbox 360. I didn't think Xbox was going to get a lot because of the popularity of first-person shooter players on that system. I'm jealous of some of the stuff they released on Xbox. Each platform has its own niche of people. Xbox players can't mod on it so there are a lot more builder and survival players. The mobile platform started off at a certain point in the PC game and went from there, and they're adding stuff little by little. The controls are touch-based, which are a little different to handle than what I'm used to. The mobile and console versions have more restrictions because of how it's published through Apple, Microsoft and Google, which are stringent on their platforms and what happens. The PC doesn't have those restrictions.

How has "Minecraft" expanded over the years?

A lot of mods have been added to the main game like Pistons, which is a mechanical device to push and pull blocks around within the world. Feedback from the "Minecraft" community has resulted in wolves, fireworks, and a million little things.

How have you seen "Minecraft" seep into pop culture?

It's became a cultural phenomenon on its own. There are the Lego "Minecraft" sets, which have been hot sellers. There's a natural connection with Lego. In "Borderlands 2," Gearbox Studios created creeper mods that you have to find and Steve skins can be added to players. The development team behind "Far Cry 3" made their own "Minecraft "map based on their game.

Why do you think "Minecraft" has remained so popular?

The game has its broad appeal. It's less of a game and more of a platform to build a game on. You can follow Creative or Survival modes, or you can make Capture the Flag games or Team Fortress 2 maps that work like that game. That draws in a lot of people. People can make anything they want like zombie survival maps. It reaches so many people that way.

What separates "Minecraft" from other big games?

The various nuances of the game. When Markus started up there was a lot more connection between the guy developing the game and the people playing it. With AAA games there's a complete disconnect with fans. They went and talked to people to see what they liked and wanted. From very early on they set a standard for a very tight nit community.